Russia has been actively selling arms to whoever wants to buy its antiquated technology. The most recent addition to its client list is Vietnam, which wants to balance against Chinese supremacy in the region and Chinese claims to the Spratly Islands off the coast of Vietnam…
For Hanoi, this deal [also] involves … the construction of naval infrastructure in Vietnam, including a naval base, repair and maintenance facilities, and a communications center, as well as the training of specialists … Vietnam’s leadership has been traveling the world seeking military sales from the US, Canada, and France … it has clearly made a major gesture to Moscow to upgrade bilateral relations also to counter China.
… the Vietnamese government is soliciting a large-scale Russian presence in its country to balance Chinese economic and political power, and ensure its energy security, even as it also seeks to check Chinese naval power in the South China Sea.
